Corda Introduction

R3’s Corda is a scalable, permissioned peer-to-peer (P2P) distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform that enables the building of applications that foster and deliver digital trust between parties in regulated markets. Corda natively supports strong identity, privacy, scalability, and security requirements, making it the DLT platform of choice for financial services and many other strictly regulated industries.

Corda is a permissioned "distributed ledger" coupled with a workflow messaging network. As opposed to other blockchains, there is no global shared ledger in Corda. Corda communications are peer-to-peer on a "need-to-know" basis without any broadcasts. This need-to-know approach is quite different from Hyperledger Fabric’s network "channels". On Corda, each entity simply maintains its own ledger which records the firm’s positions with counterparties. Corda provides the network protocol for nodes to exchange messages about changes to information, or state transitions. Every Corda node involved in a transaction will verify if the transaction is acceptable according to rules defined in the CorDapp contract.

Corda employs a robust identity model, relying on x.509 certificates with validated trust chains to ensure that every node identitiy is legitimate. Corda distributed applications, known as CorDapps, are housed entirely on Corda nodes. In a Corda-based solution, applications need only trigger the existing workflow already present on the node.

Many organizations are struggling to keep pace with the rapidly changing technology landscape. As a consequence, they operate and collaborate using obsolete solutions. Empowered by Catalyst Blockchain Manager on Corda, they can upgrade processes and develop custom-made, innovative, and privacy-preserving technologies. Bring transparency and trust to inter-organizational cooperation through enterprise-grade blockchain application networks.

On Corda, privacy is paramount. Distributed ledger technology enables organizations to build blockchain application networks that transact with one another in confidence. Corda’s mechanisms for smart contracts allow organizations to create shared solutions leveraging secure virtual machines.

Corda was designed by R3 specifically for enterprise use cases. Unlike most blockchain technologies, Corda does not feature a globally shared ledger. Instead, transactions are private, peer-to-peer events that exist only on the subjective ledgers of involved parties, and those of optional notaries.

Corda Enterprise Edition supports the full capabilities of the protocol. Its flexible deployment architecture makes it compatible with enterprise-grade security.

With Corda Enterprise, organizations can create clusters of Corda nodes and notaries. Parallel and concurrent execution of workflows enables the higher transaction throughput needed for production-ready systems. The protocol also integrates with mission-critical enterprise systems and databases.